2021
This article examines the transmedia evolution of the jiangshi – from their ghostly origins in Qing literature, through the cinematic portrayals that defined them as comic martial arts icons, to their recent appearances as hybrid creatures in popular fan-powered media, where their representations oscillate between cute and erotic and draw on the aesthetics related to the European vampire and Japanese anime characters. The article begins with the discussion of portrayals of the jiangshi in Yuan Mei’s eighteenth–century collection of strange tales, Zibuyu, then moves on to examine the cinematic construction of the ‘hopping vampire’ in classic jiangshi films like Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980) and Mr Vampire (1985) and, more recently, Rigor Mortis (2013) and Vampire Cleanup Department (2017). Finally, the article focuses on the creature’s hybridization in fan-friendly contemporary texts like James Duvalier’s light novel Night Flowers (2015), collaborative webnovels, and drama CD series Midnight Jiang Shis (2016).